New-York tribune. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1866-1924, 1887-03-06

give a nickel to the beggar with whom they
gladly exchange pocl,etboOks.
Mr.. Cocobolo, who was never brought up TO DO
much married a woman who was biouSht up W
do even less. He had toerable credio' she
moderate fortune; by putting these tosethcr 'hey
managed to live quite comfortably. Buo pye-aho'
bye children came About the same time money
became very plenty'-plenty, that IS 10 say ca
cent with those who were unfortunate as TO
have little and who tried to live upon their In
comes The rate OF interest ran down-from seven
nor cent to six to five finally to four and lucky
you were to get that. And while interest was
running down the children were growing up; en-
pcnses increased as the income diminished. FL
nally they were obliged TO give up the luxury OF
boarding of having some else stand between
them and servants. They were fairly driven into
housekeeping. A relative Of MI. COcObolo who
had an imposing brownstone mansion in fash
i0nable and very advantageous locality-near all
the churches colleges, asylums and hospitals Dut
q matter Of two or three miles from Mr. Cocobcios
club and most of his old Enthusiastically consented
to let them have it for q merely nominal rent
s.. 900 n year. the tenants to keep it in repair.
You have lust seen the house. The money that
Mr. Cocobolo used to spend in cigars, rcd cra' ats
and patent leather shoes he has since been obliged
to squander in plumbing, belpulls, paint putty
offers YOU a pipe and says cigars make him ner-
yous So does GOOD claret. But the home brand
he has on his table will make you tired. Yet he
is hospitality itself. You think him distract when
you're talking to him. He does not mean 10 be
disrespecfulit is not that your affalrs bore hlm'
that he is not profoundly interested in your SCI
atica But he has rheumatism in his own lett
shoulder caught by lying on that lounge near
the north window and reading the newspapers
PERHAPS you noticed how the gale that swept IN
through the badly constructed fittings lifted my
wig-and occupied with his own Ills, possibly
thinking too, Of his own bills, he did not follow
you so closely in your argument as you may have
desired.
Mrs. Cocobolo is good woman-none better.
But the prvations she undegOes. the sacrlhces she
has to make. to keep up appearances would move
a corner groceryman to tears. Arabclla has not
bad new dress in three winters-the Old one Is
Just turned and turned and cleaned-that's why
sho smells so of benzinc on reception days some
persons think it's the old gentlemans breath, but
/ assure YOU il is not Mrs. CocObOlO says she
would like very much to take hold heartily and
help improve the condition of the poor-but she
can get no time. sewing-wOman cannot be had
for money much less for love. And she Is With
out a girl two thirds Of the time. They leave her
il she requests them TO be careful about the coal
not to throw all that is left of the joint In the ASH
barrel to turn down the gas when II is not being
used Mr.. Cocobolo told me that for nearly
month in the beginning Of the winter he met
new girl coming up the steFs every time he went
out in the morning, the same one gong down
when he returned in the evening. Welcome the
coming s,eed the parting girl, became the watch
word of tho family Mr. CocobOlO included. IL
was specially given out. even 10 guests, that
H. co. tn 10
ditional steps put upon Mary. Why. an admirer
of Arabella--qr.iie promising paIti, by the way
came TO grief in consequence. AS the girl OBJ
jected to opening the door for hm more thaa
once day end never in the morning, and IL be-
came O question of which should quit, he did
But when he asked the other doy 10 SUD
scribe to funL TO provide every worklngwoman
with an upright piano he refused-was rather
prvfane about it, believe.
Seriously, have not put the case Of the Coco
bolcs very strongly. They are friends OF mine
and do not wish to expose them TO pubhc sym
pathy But this do know, they are going from
bad to worse. running more and more pehinnhahd
each year, and what the end Of it all will be do
not know Arabcla already envics the freedom
of the sewing-woman. the shopgrl or the cigarette
roller They have freedom, she says and are not
OBLIGED to lie Their young men can call upon
90 to reception after reception IN the same dress
and STAY up night after night TO entertain people
in whom they have no interest. They work ana
s,een and dic-wearing beautiful bangs IN the
meanwhilc-and there's an end OF 1t. The only
difference between her and girls Of their degree
she declares, is that she works. cannot sleep ana
doesn't die. And she's tired of trying TO 1--we on
nothing at all--this she says Is worse Than dy ie
on a very little.
The hopelessness Of this case Of the COcobolos
is that do not how it can be bcttercd lhey
are perfectly helpless. l suggest to Arabella that
she teach-she does not know enough, she says
That she sew-thls she cannot do; she was never
taught. OF homework she knows nothing-is Just
as ignorant the sewing women, shopgrls ana
cigarette rollers Of whom have lately read.
To Mr. Cocobolo / suggest that he might find
some light employmcnt-s that required
neither experience nor talent; be "editOr," for
instance. He objects that he has never been one.
l reply that he can go over manuscript, cross out
sentences here and there at haphazard without re-
gard to sense and mix the thing up generally
quite well as any one else. To this nc feebly
replies that he has always been gentleman If
not a scholar and doesn't think he'd care to try.
"What you do ?" shout in DESPAIR
"Wen" he says, IL can point lead pencils"
Indeed he can. If only there need for
men, careful, conscientious and Industrious TO
sharpen lead pencils, l am confident that Mr..
CocOb0lO would command permanent place and
at excellent salary. lie says it is not his
fault that people don't want their lead pencils
pointed nobody ever taught him to do anything
else and he taught himself that. This being the
case he thinks else is TO blame, that he
ought to be taken care of-or at least let alone.
When l suggest to him that he might go into
the country and sharpen fence-posts instead of
lead pencils, he says the thing is different nc
never learned to sharpen fence posts. Nor will
ne consent to 20 into the country, take IA
small house, do nothing at all, but by living
within his means make both ends meet and have
done with debt and deceit and splendid squalor
so what to do with the Cocobolos-Cocobolo es-
Iecially-I don't know. Were l able I'd found
large asylum-for him and other idiots who
don't even know enough TO be editors. But, rs
10 lxnaa ihnra l. L. ol-o